On the plus side, according to scientists, Juno will now spend less time in Jupiter’s abrasive radiation belts.

“The decision to forego the burn is the right thing to do – preserving a valuable asset so that Juno can continue its exciting journey of discovery,” said Nasa’s Thomas Zurbuchen, the science mission associate administrator. He added that the pictures from Juno “are nothing short of amazing”.

Juno is able to peer through Jupiter’s clouds to see what is going on in the atmosphere.

Scientists want to better understand how the planet – the fifth from our Sun, with at least 67 moons – originated and evolved.

Every orbit, Juno swoops within 2,600 miles of Jupiter’s cloud tops. The most recently completed orbit was three weeks ago, while the next close flyby will come at the end of March.

Whenever Juno’s mission does end, the spacecraft will end up diving into Jupiter’s atmosphere and burning up, meteor-style. It was launched in 2011 from Cape Canaveral.

Last year it was discovered that Jupiter's Great Red Spot was heating the upper atmosphere to temperatures unseen anywhere else on the planet.